An improved ambulance response service for people who have fallen is being piloted in Lincolnshire - at a cost of £300,000.

At a meeting last week, organisations in the county pledged their commitment to help deliver an improved ambulance service in Lincolnshire.

Councillors from Lincolnshire County Council (LCC), which has allocated the £300,000, met with chief officers in health and emergency services to take forward new and existing projects in the county, supporting extra funding for East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS).

This includes a model to improve the speed of response to someone who has fallen, allowing EMAS to prioritise the most life-threatening calls.

This pilot project is planned to be up and running before Christmas, with impacts being monitored and any improvements being made in Spring 2019. The funding will be from the additional money from government to help councils deal with winter pressures.

Coun Martin Hill, Leader of LCC, said: “I very much welcome the additional resource that health commissioners and East Midlands Ambulance Service have committed, which will provide 39 new ambulances in the county, and their work to provide a more bespoke service in Lincolnshire. To make sure that this investment has the biggest impact on the service our residents get, it is only right that the council and others agree to do all we can to help.”

Coun Patricia Bradwell, executive councillor for adult health and care at LCC, said: “We’ve agreed to fund this pilot project to provide a more appropriate and timely response to people who fall this winter, as an expansion of existing response services in the county. As well as people getting the care they need more quickly, there will be benefits to the whole health and care system, avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions and allowing ambulances to go to where they are most needed in the county.”

Richard Henderson, chief executive at East Midlands Ambulance Service said: “Partner agencies at the meeting agreed that EMAS is in a good position to continue to provide quality services to the people of Lincolnshire. To keep delivering better clinical outcomes, all agencies will work more collaboratively. At EMAS, we are investing in new ambulances and equipment for Lincolnshire, and are progressing well with our recruitment campaign to increase the number of clinicians that we have working on the frontline.”